(CNN) – Tim Kaine spoke with President Obama earlier this week as he considers a potential Senate bid in Virginia, but the Democratic National Committee chairman is still a couple weeks away from making a final decision.

Kaine - a former Virginia governor whom Obama is reportedly lobbying to run for Senate in the wake of Democratic Sen. Jim Webb's retirement announcement – won't announce his plans until the end of February or early March, DNC communications director Brad Woodhouse said.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - South Dakota Sen. John Thune is mixing it up with fellow potential presidential candidate Mitch Daniels, telling the Christian Broadcasting Network Wednesday that social issues should not be minimized over the course of the Republican presidential primary process.

The comments come in response to Daniels, the Indiana governor and possible White House candidate, who has controversially called for a temporary "truce" on social issues while America deals with its pressing economic problems. Daniels, the former budget director under President Bush, is known for his fiscal conservatism and economic credentials but has spoken little on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Rep. Michele Bachmann Thursday noticeably sidestepped the long-standing issue of President Obama's citizenship, saying "it's not for me to state" whether the president is or is not an American citizen.

"That isn't for me to state, that's for the president to state," the Republican congresswoman from Minnesota and Tea Party favorite said on ABC's "Good Morning America" when asked about lingering doubts among some Americans that the president was not born in the United States.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Russ Feingold, the former liberal senator and icon of the left who was defeated last November, is taking steps to ensure he still has a voice in the progressive movement.

Launching a political action committee Wednesday called Progressives United, Feingold says in a web video that his group will "work to ensure that our elected officials, both Republicans and Democratic, are held accountable to the people and not to the lobbyists in Washington."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Ted Kennedy, Jr. is forgoing the chance to follow his famous father into the halls of the Senate next year, telling the Connecticut Post he wants to focus on being a dad.

"I've been clear about my desire and my hope to go into public service at some point in my life," the 49-year-old Kennedy told the paper. "The issue is not, do I have the passion or energy, or could I be an effective representative. The issue is my need to lead a balanced life and be a father to my kids."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - South Dakota Sen. John Thune appears to be still very much flirting with the possibility of running for president despite overwhelming speculation he is more likely to instead set his sights on increasing his rank among the Senate Republican leadership.

In an interview with the National Review posted online Wednesday, Thune suggested he might be the best GOP candidate to matchup against President Obama.FULL POST

(CNN) – Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel looks more certain than ever to garner the necessary support in the Chicago mayoral race next week to avoid a runoff election.

According to a new survey from the Chicago Retail Merchants Association (CRMA) – a non partisan group that has not backed a candidate – Emanuel is drawing 58 percent of likely voters. The ex-top Obama aide needs more than 50 percent of the vote in the Feb. 22 election to avoid a runoff in April.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Rep. Ron Paul is taking a dig at Donald Trump, days after the business mogul told thousands of attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference that the crowd-favorite Paul "cannot get elected."

"I've won eleven times, so I don't know whether he has earned the right to criticize somebody for not winning an election when I don't know how many elections he's won so far himself," Paul said Monday on CNN's American Morning.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Americans now overwhelmingly believe China is the leading economy in the world, according to a new poll, a significant change from two years ago when Americans viewed the U.S. economy and that of China on roughly equal ground.

A Gallup poll released Monday indicates that 52 percent of Americans now name China as the leading world economic power, compared to 32 percent who say the United States is tops when it comes to the economy. When the same questioned was asked in 2009, 39 percent said China while 37 percent named the United States.FULL POST